[Usenet] “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability
of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” There is
a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and
whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in
progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an
upper bound on thread length in those groups. However there is also a
widely- recognized codicil that any intentional
triggering of Godwin's Law in order to invoke its thread-ending effects
will be unsuccessful. Godwin himself has discussed
the subject. See also Formosa's Law.